Inventing Myself: An Autobiography

by Miriam Defensor Santiago, Helen L. Valmayor

The most popular public figure in the Philippines today reveals the real Miriam in this autobiography written in 1980, when the author was a United Nations officer in Geneva, Switzerland, light-years away from the fame and controversy that now surrounds her.

Genres: Autobiography

88 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Laureate, Magsaysay Award (Asian Nobel Prize) for government service. Cited for “bold and moral leadership in cleaning up a graft-ridden government agency.” Named one of The 100 Most Powerful Women in the World by Australian magazine. Listed in the United Nations Roster of Eminent and Qualified Experts for international law.

Reviews

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the realizations that Miriam Defensor Santiago (1945-2016) had that resonated with me in this book is this: "We are not in control of our destiny." The first time I heard her say this when his son shot himself because of failures in academics. The second time was in her interview with Winnie Monsod when she was already sick with cancer and was rumored to be in the running for the presidency. The last time was reading this book in the part when she was having a hard time with her schedules in college.

I would like to believe that for most of her life, as detailed in this book, it was God who she thought to be in control of her life. She, being a Marian devotee at some point in ther life. However, in her interview while grieving for her Son's life, she said "I don't see God's handiwork in my life. Everything I got, I got by hardwork and by praying to God. Maybe the prayers did not change the mind of God, but my mind." But then, it was said while she was in pain and over the national television. We all know that Mrs. Santiago always seized her time when viewed by many people.

Being an autobiography, the book details her first 35 years on earth. She wrote in the last paragraph of the book:

"I have spent thirty-five years on this globe. Much of my adult life has been spent studying and working in foreign countries. It has been an existence that is not particularly eventful, but it has been reasonably filled with love, and sometimes with laughter. I know that God is good, and under this premise I will just have to keep inventing myself for the next thirty-five years."

She died at the age of 71 and it was just like she predicted that her existence would you be doubled of her age when she wrote these sentences. Not only because of the age but she, indeed, invented herself from the time she was appointed by former President Corazon Aquino as Agriculture Secretary when she really into the national limelight, through her many attempts for presidency, her long stints in the senate and her last candidacy.

A very good book to know more about the Iron Lady of the Philippines from her own words. It's well-written with almost no typographical errors (that's nice for locally published books here in the Philippines). The language is colorful (as colorful as her life!) and the telling is straightforward. If you admire her when she was alive (I did!) you will like her even more as you read her stories of childhood in the Visayas.

Goodbye, Mrs. Santiago. God speed!

[Christian Joshua Cacatian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inventing Myself by Dr. Miriam Defensor Santiago. An autobiography short yet full. A brief exploration on how she got it all. Relentless, sharp, and precise. A quick book to realize how important bloodlines and affinities affect one’s own direction in life. A bonus from this book was the lengthy discussion of Panlarong Pinoy during her childhood. Great read!

[Justin Rain]

Great autobiography of Senator Defensor Santiago, written by herself.

[Wogie]

Sen. Miriam's first 35 years in this world was narrated in this brief and worthy reading biography. You will know her personally in this first book of his autobiography.

[Kyth Palma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful read about our late Senator during her younger and formative years.